Balam Academy: Curse of the Tainted Key
by wordsofawitheringwriter
Summary: Lucy Heartfilia (apprentice to none other than the Fairy Godmother) is in for the adventure of her life when she is enrolled in a boarding school for the sons and daughters of Fiore's greatest (and not so greatest) villains. It's soon discovered that somewhere within the school is a Gate Key that's been manipulated to produce the darkest magic ever documented. [full summary inside]
1. Welcome to Balam

**Full Summary: Lucy Heartfilia (apprentice to none other than the Fairy Godmother) is in for the adventure of her life when she is enrolled in a boarding school for the sons and daughters of Fiore's greatest (and not so greatest) villains.  
**

 **It's soon discovered that somewhere within the school is a Gate Key that's been manipulated to produce the darkest magic ever documented. Lucy finds herself in a race to find the Key, since the holder must be pure of heart; meanwhile, the friends that she's made along the way must decide whether they are going to stand to help their new friend, or risk deliberately going against their parents, as the Villains too desire the power of the mysterious Key.  
**

 **Broken promises, changes of heart, potential first love…**

 **And it's only her first semester.  
**

disclaimer: I own nothing

* * *

There was a boy in Lucy's dorm room, or rather, what she _thought_ was her dorm room.

The blonde in the doorway tightened her grip on the handle of her suitcase, her eyes widening a bit at the boy's ruffled appearance. Briefly, she found herself wondering if his pink hair was natural, or if he'd slipped a pixie a little something extra to obtain that certain hue.

Stepping one foot back out into the hall, the girl quickly double-checked to make sure the engraved plaque did in fact say _Girls_.

It did.

Just to be extra cautious, she _triple_ -checked to make sure it was the correct number: Room 777.

It was.

Looking back into the dorm room, upon closer inspection there appeared to be a girl there as well, though that was far less concerning. Shifting her weight uncomfortably from side to side, Lucy realized for the first time that she seemed to be interrupting something.

"Uh, sorry," Lucy cleared her throat, gaining at least the boy's attention; the girl with blue hair never even lifted her head at the sound of a new voice. "Am I in the wrong-"

"No, you're not," the boy sneered, cutting her off and sounding cross while not sparing Lucy a second glance. He kept his attention on the other girl seated in the corner of the room with her head in a book.

"Levy," he said, his tone shifting from annoyed to desperate. " _Please_ -"

"No," the girl was quick to cut him off, pushing a skinny pair of cranberry-colored glasses up the bridge of her nose as she did so. "I spent all last semester helping you out, yet you still failed to show up for final exams. We're friends, but I'm not wasting my time again helping you study just for you to purposely screw yourself over."

 _Harsh_. Lucy winced at the girl's words, feeling for the boy even though he hadn't exactly made the best first impression.

"You sound just like Erza right now! I _told_ you, dammit," he was quick to retort. "Something came up!"

Lucy watched as the girl didn't flinch in the slightest at the boy's rising voice. She merely licked the pad of her thumb before calmly turning the page of her book.

"Is that the same excuse you gave Mad Mim when grades were sent home?" she asked coolly. "Speaking of which, how _would_ your mother feel if she heard that you're practically _begging_ Maleficent's daughter for help right now? You know our mothers don't exactly get along ever since the infamous PTA meeting of 2004."

The boy threw his hands up in the air. "Forget it," he scoffed, running a hand through his mop of hair before whirling around on his heel, breezing past Lucy at the door. The blonde's eyes widened just the slightest when he accidentally bumped shoulders with her in his haste to leave.

The strange boy was gone, but the doorway lingered with the scent of wood chips and cinnamon toothpaste.

Once his footsteps had all but disappeared down the hall, Lucy shook her head and refocused her attention on the girl in the corner.

The blue hair she possessed was a bit wild, pushed away from her face with the help of a thick headband that was probably against some sort of dress code. Part of Lucy wondered if her scowl was part of the welcoming protocol, while the other part was too busy struggling beneath the weight of her suitcase to care.

"A little help?" She asked, not really expecting it.

The girl huffed, not looking up from her book. "You the new girl?"

"I guess, yeah."

She turned another page, and Lucy wasn't quite sure if the girl had actually finished the page or if that was just her way of being passive-aggressive.

"Your bunk is the one closest to the door."

"Thanks, but I meant help with my actual bags-"

"Closest to the door," she repeated. "On your left."

Lucy took a deep breath in through her nose, rolling her eyes before dropping her things onto the correct bunk. She leaned forward, her palms pressed flat against the top of her bags to steady herself as she shut her eyes.

She found herself wondering for the hundredth time why Grandma Verna–more commonly referred to as Fairy Godmother to those who weren't her apprentice, like Lucy was. She wasn't _really_ her granddaughter, but the elderly woman had taken in Lucy at a very young age due to her Father's request after her mother's passing, so she may as well be hers– had ever thought this school would be a good idea.

She didn't belong here, and she was sure that her new classmates would spend everyday reminding her of that.

Her roommate was even getting a head start, by the looks of it.

Lucy scoffed. _A school for the wicked wasn't a place for someone like her._

"Dinner's in an hour," the girl across the room informed her, sounding bored. "Change into your uniform before leaving the dorm or you'll get called down, and then we'd _all_ get in trouble."

Lucy didn't feel like asking who ' _we_ ' was. Not that she was really given a choice anyway, considering the girl continued without so much as catching her breath.

"You're a Good Mage, okay," the girl sighed, never once looking up from her book. "We all get that. Just, don't go around thinking you're better than any of us just because your parents didn't spend any time in the royal guards' custody at some point, okay? You won't be given any special treatment around here for it." She turned another page. "If anything, it'll be the opposite."

 _Noted_. Lucy's eyes fell on the neatly folded uniform that rested on the trunk at the foot of her bed, inwardly cringing at the school's colors.

Her mind flashed back to her meeting with the Headmaster of Balam Acadamy–a short, older man who was apparently referred to as _Gramps_ , for whatever reason–where she had wrinkled her nose once told about the school's uniform policy.

" _Oh, don't make that face," Gramps had warned her, flicking his wrist dismissively. "Didn't Verna ever tell you that your face could get stuck that way? Especially after eating one of the candies. Watch out for those in the cafeteria, by the way. Things get ugly around here around April 1st."_

" _Um, understood, sir."_

 _The old man leaned forward so that his arms rested on the desk, his elbows crumpling the papers piled there. "Do you know how difficult it was to get a PTA of_ literal _evil parents to agree on a set uniform for their children?" He shook his head. "Especially that Hades, oh my word." Gramps pinched the bridge of his nose, shuddering at what Lucy could only assume was the memory._

 _The girl wasn't quite sure when they fallen back on the subject of the uniform, but she nodded along sympathetically nonetheless._

" _Hell fire everywhere," the headmaster shook his head, muttering under his breath. "Not to mention that pesky Jack Frost freezing over my library just because he could. That's the last time I let the PTA meet in this building, I'll tell you that much."_

" _Yes sir," Lucy bit her lip, wondering when she could leave._

 _Gramps had taken a deep breath, peering at the girl almost apologetically over his reading glasses as he refocused his attention on the student. "Verna is lucky I owe her a favor, or you wouldn't be here. And child," he said more gently, only after noticing the girl's hurt expression that she was failing miserably to hide. "That's more for your own sake than mine."_

Lucy took a deep breath, ignoring her suitcase and putting off unpacking for the time being as she sat on the bed. At least the old man had wished her luck before she'd left his office.

She stared across the room where her unnamed roommate kept her back to her, never once looking up from a book that was thicker than Lucy's whole fist.

The blonde cleared her throat, tapping her toes nervously from where they barely touched the hardwood. "Let's start over. Um, I'm Lucy."

"That's nice."

Lucy nodded to herself, biting the inside of her cheek. _Well, this was gonna be a fun school year._ She tried again at playing nice, even though her roommate clearly wasn't interested. "What's yours?"

The girl let out a long sigh, and Lucy saw the pressed flower that she picked up from the desk to mark her spot before shutting the book with a heavy thump.

"Look, Lucy," she turned in her chair so that she was finally facing the blonde, "you seem like a nice girl."

Lucy allowed her hopes to raise just the slightest at the girl's words, though they soon settled back to rock bottom as she continued.

"Unfortunately," she sighed, as though she genuinely did feel for the blonde. "I think that's going to be your problem here."

Her roommate stood, tucking her book under one arm just as Lucy remembered that the boy from earlier had called her Levy.

Levy waved over her shoulder as she left the room, not even caring enough to spare a look at her new roommate as she left Lucy completely alone.

* * *

Lucy opted to skip dinner that night, not feeling like going through the awkwardness that came with standing alone in a crowded lunch room with just her tray, waiting until someone took enough pity on her to offer a seat.

Especially somewhere like Balam, where she couldn't even get a little sympathy from her own _roommate_.

Instead, Lucy dug around in her suitcase for her box of granola bars that she'd packed and, after changing into her uniform, grabbed her journal and set out to explore the campus.

Outside, it proved nearly deserted because of the time, considering everyone else had already made their way to the lunch hall. Pulling the school map from her pocket, she unfolded the paper to see where the library was located. Luckily, if she was reading it right, it didn't seem like it was very far from the girls' dorm, which would really come in handy for the bookish blonde over the course of the semester.

The girl sighed. It was a shame, really. Her roommate really seemed to enjoy reading as well, but it didn't seem like she was interested in discussing any good titles with Lucy anytime soon.

As she walked along, Lucy tightened her arm around her middle where she was holding the journal that Grandma Verna had given her as a gift before sending her to this hell hole. Lucy figured it was some sort of consolation prize for being sent into the heart of the enemy.

The blonde rolled her eyes at her own wording, berating herself for being so melodramatic. In truth, she knew there was a good reason for Verna to go through with this. If Lucy ever wanted to truly step up into her place someday, then she had to become familiar with both sides of the game.

Lucy made a mental note to write a letter to Grandma Verna later, letting the older woman know she was still getting settled in. She _would_ just email her, but Fairy Godmother never had quite taken to electronics of any sort.

As she rounded the corner where the map said the library was, Lucy's breath left her at the sight.

It was a beautiful building.

Part of Lucy felt ashamed for the images of the campus that she'd been picturing over the summer, ever since she'd been told she'd be attending Balam in the fall. She'd imagined slimy walls and cracked foundations, and constant cracks of lightning sounding off in the background.

Really, Lucy should have known better now that she thought about it. After all, what self-obsessed, egotistical villain was going to let their child live in filth?

No, while the campus was certainly aged, it was arguably nicer than Lucy's old school.

She shook her head, quickly dismissing any thoughts of her old school and home before she could dwell on them, hurrying up the steps of the library and rushing inside.

* * *

She'd lost track of time.

Lucy hurried back to the dorms, thanking the stars above that she didn't run into any teachers out patrolling the halls for those breaking curfew. However, she did find herself jumping a little every time she heard a crow caw, and her spine crawled as she raced down the halls, feeling almost certain that the walls had eyes.

She shot into the room, quickly shutting the door behind her.

Then her heartbeat began to race for other reasons.

While earlier it had been just Levy, Lucy had been aware of the two other unoccupied beds that had been there at the time. However, over the course of the afternoon she'd forgotten what that would mean for her later on.

The beds were no longer unoccupied.

Two new sets of eyes locked onto the blonde, making her feel nervous under the apprehensive stares. It didn't last long, much to the girl's relief. However, she could have done without their eyerolls at her flustered appearance from having ran all the way back from the library.

Lucy tucked a stray piece of hair behind her ear, shuffling towards her bed.

"Hi," she said, hoping she'd have better luck with the new girls than she had with Levy earlier. "I'm-"

"Lucy Heartfilia, apprentice to none other than the Fairy Godmother, and daughter to the infamous rogue Good Mage Layla Heartfilia." The redhead in the corner had cut her off, soon returning her attention to her laptop.

"Uh, yeah," the blonde said slowly. "How did you…?"

"Levy is the editor of the school newspaper here," answered a bored voice from the bed across from Lucy's. There sat another girl with blue hair, who had her legs crossed as she bent over a corkboard with various photographs spread out on both her comforter and nightstand. The girl shrugged. "Levy knows everything about everyone."

"Not everything," Levy laughed from where she sat at the same desk from earlier, and Lucy found herself surprised that the girl was capable of laughing. She was sitting prim and proper in her chair as she played with a glowing, blue ball no larger than the size of an apple. On the desk in front of her sat a laptop, the screen showcasing a paper practically writing itself as Levy's hands never left the-

 _Oh_ , Lucy understood now. Levy was writing the paper, but she was using the ball to do so. It must be her Instrument.

While back in the day, during their parents' time, witches and wizards and warlocks alike had used wands to help transfer their magic, while the new generation had become a little more imaginative with their tools.

For example, Lucy had a single, golden key that she used as a stand-in wand that had been given to her by Grandma Verna, however, it'd technically belonged to her mother once upon a time.

The blue crystal ball must be Levy's stand-in wand.

Levy lifted one hand from the Instrument, and Lucy noticed that while the paper was still being written, it was now operating at a much slower pace. She pointed one finger in the redhead's direction. "That's Erza," she said, and the blonde followed her finger as the pointed to the bed across from Lucy's. "And that's Juvia. They're in the same grade as us, so you'll see them around often enough."

"Welcome to Balam, Princess." Erza smirked, and Lucy very briefly found herself wondering who the redhead's parents were when the nickname sunk in.

 _Princess_ … anywhere else, Lucy might've secretly enjoyed the title. It was common enough back home, at the very least.

At a place like this, however, Lucy knew it wasn't considered a compliment.

 _Welcome to Balam, Lucy._ The blonde huffed, falling face first onto her mattress and wondering just how loud she could scream into her pillow without her new roommates noticing.

 _A school for the wicked wasn't a place for someone like her, and something told Lucy that the other students weren't going to let her forget it._

* * *

 **a/n:** ***squeals* YAY FOR NEW STORY! but, at the same time, i'm silently weeping because, really, what do i honestly think i'm getting myself into right now... but, moving on... _  
_**

 **please tell me what you think of this! I'm really excited for how this could turn out and i would love to hear what you guys think of it too!(:**

 **Until Next Time...**


	2. First Impressions

_**Chapter 2:** First Impressions_

 **Summary:** _Lucy Heartfilia (apprentice to none other than the Fairy Godmother) is in for the adventure of her life when she is enrolled in a boarding school for the sons and daughters of Fiore's greatest (and not so greatest) villains._

 _It's soon discovered that somewhere within the school is a Gate Key that's been manipulated to produce the darkest magic ever documented. Lucy finds herself in a race to find the Key, since the holder must be pure of heart; meanwhile, the friends that she's made along the way must decide whether they are going to stand to help their new friend, or risk deliberately going against their parents, as the Villains too desire the power of the mysterious Key._

 _Broken promises, changes of heart, potential first love…_

 _And it's only her first semester._

 _ **a/n:** i couldn't have asked for a better response to this story! Thank you so much you guys, I'll try my best to keep updates comin'3 and p.s. yes, you guys, there is PLENTY of character development in the works here. No worries(; our favorite characters won't be assholes for long3 and if by the end of this chapter you guys are thinking "what sets this apart from the rest of the high school AUs? Where's the (literal) magic I was promised?" _

_all in due time, i promise(; the real fun begins soon :*_

 _ **disclaimer** : I own nothing_

* * *

Erza, the fiery redhead from the night before, was the one to wake Lucy up the next morning. Already dressed for class in the pleated skirt and pressed, white button up that the school uniform consisted of, the girl tapped her foot impatiently at the blonde's laziness while she finished adjusting her tie.

Lucy had yawned loudly into her fist, still half-asleep as Erza prattled on about how roommates were responsible for each other and she wasn't about to get into trouble on the very first day just because the _Princess_ needed her beauty sleep.

Levy had shot the redhead a dirty look at her phrasing, which reminded Lucy that Maleficent was the one responsible for her friend's mother being asleep for nearly a century.

 _Fairy tales were odd in a way, at times_... Lucy clicked her tongue in thought as she finally managed to roll out of bed, shivering as her toes touched the cool floorboards.

It didn't take her long to get ready, though by the time she made it back into the dorm from the communal bathroom, all of her roommates but Juvia had already left for their morning classes.

The blue-haired beauty didn't say anything to Lucy as she reentered the room, instead opting to continue primping in the mirror, making sure each curl was bouncy and tight.

She spoke up eventually, and her first words to Lucy were, "New girl is annoying Juvia."

Lucy had only halted her motion of struggling with the required tie, blinking in the other girl's direction as she cocked her head.

 _Did she just speak in the third-person?_

Juvia ignored her blank stare, however, and instead caught the blonde's eye in the mirror and snapped her fingers at her, gesturing for her to come towards her.

Lucy frowned at the girl's rude manners, but willed herself to behave. She wasn't sure what powers Juvia possessed just yet, or who her parents-slash-mentors were.

Until then, it was best to get along as well as she could with everyone.

"Juvia will fix New Girl's tie so she won't be late to class."

Lucy _would_ have thanked the girl as she took charge without Lucy's say-so, but then she remembered Erza's earlier remark about the roommate situation, and she knew Juvia wasn't helping her out of the kindness of her heart.

The blonde sighed when she was soon left alone in the dorm room, and her eyes settled on the journal that sat on her nightstand as she slipped on her shoes.

 _Verna_ , she thought, _what have you gotten me into this time?_

* * *

After stuffing a granola bar into her bag along with the journal and the books she would need for her morning classes-she had to double back once to grab the syllabus for her first class- Lucy just barely made it on-time to the classroom after a brief struggle with the map.

 _Seriously, why did the campus have to be this big?_

And did the hallways seriously need to be so _complex_?

The blonde smoothed down the front of her skirt, feeling only a little self-conscious as she looked around for a familiar face. Which felt a tad trivial, since the only familiar faces she would find would be the ones belonging to her roommates, who were far from friendly at the moment...

Lucy's eye twitched at the thought of her living companions, and could only cross her fingers and hope that things wouldn't remain so hostile forever. Maybe she could write Verna and ask the Fairy Godmother to send a little vial of Pixie Dust her way... a little sprinkle of that in the morning always seemed to brighten Lucy's day back home.

And if that didn't work, it made for a surprisingly good eyeshadow...

A flash of pink caught the girl's eye, and it was then that she noticed the boy from the day before seated in the back corner of the room, his feet propped up on a desk.

She found herself pulling at the collar of her shirt when those dark, curious eyes fell on her, and she had to resist the urge to fan her flushed face with the map she still held in her hands.

The room had grown considerably warmer since first stepping inside.

Then, before she knew it, she was having to rub at her arms just to _stay_ warm as the temperature suddenly plummeted. Lucy looked back to the strange boy in the corner, and took a small step back at the sight of the scowl on his face.

Upon closer inspection, however, the scowl didn't seem to be directed at her-thank goodness, she'd hate to be on the wrong side of the look like that-instead, he seemed to be looking just over her shoulder...

Where another boy with dark hair and the prettiest fair skin Lucy had ever seen was standing, having slipped into the classroom behind the blonde without her noticing.

It was just then that Lucy realized she was, in fact, still standing.

She inwardly berated herself for being such a 'new kid'.

A deep voice from the doorway cleared it's throat and Lucy hurried to the first open seat she saw-which happened to be in the very front by the window-and sat her bag in her lap. The teacher was tall with spiky, dark-auburn hair that he wore long. Draped across his broad shoulders was a long, thick-bodied snake that seemed all to content in flicking it's tongue in her direction, those dark eyes staring straight through her.

The teacher warned both of the glaring boys to cool it, grumbling about how he wasn't in the mood for their constant rivalry since the first bell of the new semester hadn't even rang yet.

It dawned on Lucy that it was the boys responsible for the varying temperature, feeling relieved as it began to-albeit slowly-mellow out.

The man at the front of the room picked up a piece of chalk, beginning to write his name for the class before thinking better of it, and turned his head over his shoulder to glare at the class as a whole, as he warned, "So help me if I find out another one of you is using _my_ cauldrons to make _chili_ during class..."

Lucy desperatly wanted to laugh at such a ridiculous statement, but part of her knew that he wasn't kidding.

Instruction began not long after, which mainly just called for going over the syllabus and classroom expectations- _No Chili Making_ _Under Any Circumstances_ being bullet point number one-but while Lucy tried her best to pay as close attention to the sheet of paper as she could, she couldn't help but feel the dark eyes behind her that were boring holes into her back.

* * *

You know you're enrolled to a school for the potentially wicked when " _Poisoning Apples 101: Getting Back at Your Enemies″_ is listed as a standard.

She had cocked her head slightly to the side at that one, thinking that even for Balam, that practice seemed a little out-dated. However, even so, Lucy made a quick mental note to avoid any and all apples the following weeks after they covered that particular unit.

In fact, she should probably start avoiding meals in the lunch room altogether, just to be safe.

Her shoulders had slumped at the thought of that, knowing she had nowhere _near_ the amount of granola bars packed away in her room to last her the semester.

Maybe Verna could pack her a few more whenever she sent for the Pixie Dust...

Until then, Lucy supposed she'd have to learn how to ration.

* * *

It didn't take long for the blonde to figure out that rationing wasn't going to work. At all.

Lucy wasn't entirely sure just what she had been expecting as she eyed the school menu. Perhaps something more along the lines of _blacker-than-your-soul coffee? Newt eyes disguised as olives? Rotten-apple pies? Sour-milk lattes?_

She snickered a bit at that last one, though the idea did leave her with a bad taste in her mouth. For once she was thankful for being wrong.

The items listed actually looked, well, _good_.

The girl snorted under her breath, thinking that it was possibly the only thing in the school that could be described as such. Well, besides her, but being good came easy when your entire homeroom was composed of villains-to-be.

Lucy picked up a plastic tray from the pile and began moving slowly down the line, picking up a dish here and there before ultimately coming to a standstill between the pudding or the fruit cup.

"Is that even a real question?" Someone behind her in line scoffer. Lucy couldn't quite place the voice just yet, but it sounded kind of familiar... and annoyed.

Glancing over her shoulder, her eyes widened just a fraction of an inch when she saw that pink hair and same, ruffled appearance.

He looked so tired up close.

"Hey."

The boy just rolled his eyes, acting as if he was put off for even having to share the same lunch as the new student.

"Whatever," he grumbled, avoiding her eyes now. "Could you please just speed things up for everyone and pick the pudding? I'm starving and you're taking forever."

His tone didn't set well with the girl, and as if just to spite him, she picked up the fruit cup before shoving her tray along the counter.

Doing things out of spite wasn't a good habit to pick up, and she chided herself for doing so, knowing Fairy Godmother would be disappointed to find out she was stooping down to their level. However, she felt the boy's tray impatiently bump her hand in line, signaling her to _go_ already, and she made up her mind real fast.

"You know," Lucy said, putting on a sickly sweet grin as she turned to face the boy, whose name she only just remembered. _Natsu_. "You're right."

"Not surprising," he huffed, though he did begin to look the slightest bit weary as he waited for the girl to make her point, since there obviously was one.

Without so much as batting an eye, Lucy swiped the pudding cup from his tray and swapped it for her fruit, which _did_ begin to look the slightest bit like rotting apples after all.

Lucy grinned at him. "It _was_ an obvious choice," she winked. "Enjoy your fruit."

And with that, she swiftly paid the lunch lady before leaving the stunned boy behind, taking a deep breath before rolling her shoulders back as she prepared to brave the cafeteria setting-all the while ignoring the boy's sputtering protests that she'd just stolen the last pudding cup.


	3. A Warning?

**a/n: so it was brought to my attention that I had apparently left my notes for the next chapter at the end of this document, which I of course had to fix so that's the reason behind this new "chapter" update being sent to your all's emails. Just wanted to apologize really quick because I should be more careful when submitting new chapters): an update will hopefully be up in the next week. Thank you guys for being so kind as far as reviewing and leaving nice words for the story(: I can't thank you enough.**

 **disclaimer: I own nothing**

* * *

Lucy clicked the pen once, twice, three times before twirling the utensil in her hand and tapping the end against the table. She was in the library again, finishing up her latest letter to Verna and trying to figure out how to finish it. The young apprentice wanted nothing more than to report back with only good things, to tell the maternal, elderly woman that she was making the most of her situation by finding only the good in a place like Balam.

Hence, why she was still stuck here, in her seat, clicking and tapping her pen.

She closed the journal with a heavy _thump_ and slid it off to the side, deciding she would go back to it later. Her eyes fell on the clock that was hanging on the far wall above one of the large, mahogany bookcases and her shoulders slumped at the late hour. Lucy yawned into her fist, trying to decide what to do next. She was already long past curfew, but she knew if she went back now then she would wake Erza, who was by far the lightest sleeper that she knew.

Lucy figured it probably had something to do with her warrior lineage, considering who her father was. The redhead also, surprisingly, could not produce magic from what the blonde could tell.

Instead of taking any of the magic-based classes that most students were required to participate in, Erza was enrolled in the more combat-related courses.

Lucy had seen firsthand what the redhead was capable of with just a butter knife, so she wasn't looking forward to going back to the room any time soon. She'd be better off just spending the rest of the night in the library and then return to the dorm right before any of her roommates' alarms were set to go off.

It was a month into the semester now, and while the girls still had the tendency to be a bit cold towards her, a small part of Lucy was remaining hopeful. She was convinced they were all warming up to her in their own ways, slowly but surely. It may just be them taking pity on her, or possibly they were just becoming fed up with how out-of-the-loop she was on the way they did things.

Regardless of what it was that was slowly changing in the air at Balam—perhaps the Pixie dust really was helping—Lucy wasn't going to question.

She was just happy that things were changing.

Levy had helped her with her spell-work from time to time, because even though Lucy was pretty familiar with magic, she'd always had more of a knack for summoning objects rather changing their appearance. Cue the daughter of Maleficent, who could manipulate objects with ease. The girl had been a bit huffy about it, sure, but she'd warmed up to Lucy gradually once she realized the brain the blonde possessed. Levy admired knowledge, that much was evident in the short time that Lucy had known her.

Then there was Juvia, who spent an entire afternoon teaching the blonde how to properly tie her school tie while going on and on (and on, and on… and on) about this cute boy whose name never came up, surprisingly.

Lucy was most fond of Erza at the time being, however, considering what she had done for her at dinner the other night. The redhead had used previously mentioned butter knife to threaten a kid who was giving Lucy a hard time in the lunch room, making a big show to set her apart from the rest of the kids. Erza's words rang in Lucy's head now, making her grin.

" _She may be a pain in the ass, but that's our pain in the ass, okay?" Erza had lowered the butter knife only low enough so that she could look into the kid's eyes. "No more bothering my roommate, is that understood?"_

 _And, surprisingly, Levy and Juvia had backed her up._

 _Lucy had left the lunchroom that night in tears, but not because of the things the boy had been saying._

 _She was afraid of waking up, that the entire encounter had been a dream._

 _Her roommates cared._

With a small smile, Lucy reached across the table for her journal, her fingers now itching to write.

She could finish her letter now.

 _P.S._ she added at the very end. _Please don't forget the Pixie dust…_

Just as she was tearing the ink-filled pages from the journal's spine, something caught her eye and made the hair on the back of her neck stand up.

Something was written in her journal, and it wasn't Lucy's handwriting.

Lucy's head snapped up at the sound of her roommate's groaning.

"What is with you this morning?" Levy asked, her blue hair spiky as ever as she finished sliding her headband into place. "You're acting even more spaced out than usual."

The blonde only cocked her head in response to the girl's question, too busy mulling over the words that had been scrawled in tight cursive in her journal-a font that Lucy knew didn't belong to Verna.

 _The Sacred Key grows stronger by the day, don't take too long to find the way~_

Lucy huffed, but subconsciously felt for her own Tool that she kept on her hip. Someone had to be playing a trick on her.

"Nothing," she finally answered, resisting the urge to pull the journal out now and check to make sure she didn't just dream the words that sat there in heavy, black ink.

"Well, are you almost ready?" Levy asked, dropping most of the attitude from her voice once she saw something really was bothering the blonde. "Erza and Juvia left awhile ago and are waiting for us to catch up. I told them we wouldn't keep them waiting long."

"Uh, yeah, sorry." Lucy picked up her wristlet from the nightstand and, once more for good measure, made sure her Tool was where it should be. Ever since the mention of a Key, Lucy was careful to keep her own safe and close-by. Apprentices who possessed the ability to manipulate magic could still perform spells without their Tool, but the objects certainly helped.

 _Sacred Key_ , the words rang in Lucy's mind once more, the scrawled script burned into her mind, as she followed her roommate out the door. It was a Saturday, meaning they were allowed to go into town and for whatever reason, her roommates had invited her to tag along.

Again, Lucy wasn't going to question a good thing.

Or, at least, she was hoping it would turn out to be a good thing.

If her classmates tormented her just for being associated with Verna, she couldn't imagine what the townspeople would think of her…


	4. A Nose For Trouble

I can't thank you guys enough for all the kind words and reviews left on this story! I'm so glad you all seem to enjoy it because I know I love writing it. Hope this chapter doesn't disappoint!

disclaimer: I own nothing

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As it turned out, Lucy Heartfilia had a nose for trouble.

The girl pulled her coat tighter around her, gripping the bag in her free hand tighter as she hurried along the sidewalk. She'd lost Levy in the crowd after they'd left the bookstore where they actually seemed to bond over a series that they were both familiar with.

She tried desperately to remember where her roommates had planned to meet back up for lunch, but she had no idea how to navigate the busy streets. Lucy felt like she was running around in circles, in a hurry even though she had no idea where she was supposed to be going.

Her sense of direction had never been the best.

She shivered as she walked along, being sure to keep her head down now that she was lacking the protection of her roommates. While it was true her schoolmates were less than thrilled to have her amongst them, it wasn't like they were able to do anything about it.

The townspeople, however, had no such rules to abide by.

Lucy was sure a few of them would have more than a score or two to settle with Fairy Godmother.

She tried to refrain from making eye contact with anyone, desperate to catch back up with her roommates as she gripped her Tool for a brief sense of extra security.

The words from earlier echoed in her mind as she touched the key, however.

 _The Sacred Key grows stronger by the day, don't take too long to find the way._

Lucy tried to calm her nerves by distracting herself from her current predicament by thinking about what the words might mean. She can't remember ever hearing about a "sacred key," but then again, why did it sound familiar?

And why was it written in her notebook?

A short man made a grab for the back of Lucy's coat as she passed, which she only barely avoided.

"Your hair," the man said in a very distinct, gravely voice while the intense look in his eye made her shiver. "It's as though it was made from gold…"

He yelled something after her about her name as she hurried away, wanting to know what it was.

Lucy sprinted ahead, ducking around the corner and slipping into the first building she came across while praying that the man hadn't been quick enough to keep up with her.

The shop was dimly lit, adding to the series of goosebumps running along the girl's arms. The dust in the air was causing Lucy's eyes to water and she was sure she was about to go into a sneezing fit, but at the very least she was hidden from the crowd of townspeople itching to get a word in with someone so tightly knit with Verna.

Taking a deep breath to steady herself, Lucy decided to pass the time by looking around the dimly-lit store, which appeared to be more of a secondhand trinket shop. Although, the closer the girl looked as she began to browse, the items looked a tad worse for wear than just secondhand.

She sifted through the contents of a random box placed on a shelf that was eye-level, cocking her head to the side when she found what appeared to be a broken shard of what once must have been a beautiful, ornate mirror.

Something about it and it's foggy reflection reminded the girl of the infamous Magic Mirror, and she smiled.

Giggling to herself despite the unfortunate situation she had found herself in, Lucy found herself unable to resist the urge to say, "Mirror Mirror, in my hand, who's the fairest in the land?"

"I'd say it doesn't take a broken piece of crap to answer that question, Princess."

Lucy gasped, the new voice startling her enough that she nearly dropped the item.

"Natsu?" she asked, whipping around to see the last person she expected to see in such a shop.

He frowned at her, rolling his eyes. "Don't sound so surprised."

"No no, it's just… What are you doing here?"

"I feel like I should be the one asking that. Coming from you, the question sounds dumber than it needs to."

Lucy felt her cheeks warm. "And just what is that supposed to mean?"

She'd been attending Balam for just over a month now, but her rocky relationship with the young mage was showing no improvement. Lucy just couldn't figure out why he seemed to dislike her so fervently.

"It means I belong in a place like this," he said, gesturing to the shelves around them. "A place where there's more dust than stock. You, however, I wouldn't picture ever stepping foot in here, much less look like you're actually enjoying yourself."

Lucy placed the mirror back to its bin, smoothing the material of her coat to keep her hands busy. "Well, maybe there's more to the Godmother's Apprentice than you all give me credit for."

Natsu raised his eyebrows in a way that let Lucy know he was merely humoring her when he replied, "Yeah, I'm sure."

Lucy puffed her cheeks before turning on her heel, determined not to let Natsu Dragneel of all people ruin her day off from the academy.

"Hey," he surprised her by grabbing her arm, effectively stopping the girl in her tracks. "What are you doing in this part of town anyway? Where's Erza?"

"Why do you care where Erza is?"

The young man snorted. "Please, after your little spectacle the other day in the dining hall? I don't see her as the type to let you wander down here alone on purpose."

Lucy refused to meet his eyes, not wanting to give him the satisfaction of knowing he was right.

However, it was all the answer he needed. A slow smirk began to pull at the corner of his lips, and he nodded. "Okay, I get it now. You're lost."

"Well, are you gonna help me find my roommates or keep being an ass about it?" she finally grumbled, "because the townspeople have already proved to be less than friendly, so I'd rather just get back to the others so I can get this day over with."

The mention of the temperamental town seemed to sober the boy up real quick.

"What happened?" he asked, lifting a brow. "Did someone try something?"

"No," Lucy said slowly, wondering why this of all things seemed to pique his interest. "There was a short man by the alley around the corner, and he was kind of being a creep about my hair but that was about as personal as it got. The rest of the town just gave me dirty looks, but they at least kept their hands to themselves."

Natsu snapped his eyes over to meet hers. "Rumple messed with you?"

"No," Lucy repeated, tired of the boy's mood swings. "He grabbed my coat to stop me but nothing more than that. Now if you'll excuse me, I have some lost roommates to locate."

She started for the door, but paused just as her hand touched the handle. Lucy hated nothing more than to look weak in front of the mage who'd given her so much trouble the past couple weeks, but the looks of the townspeople flashed in her mind.

She didn't want to go back out there.

"Don't worry," she heard him grumble reluctantly under his breath from behind her. He reached over her shoulder, hand pausing beside hers on the handle just long enough to say, "No one will bother you if I'm around," before pushing it open.

He caught his own wording as he stepped around her and into the streets, leading the way. "And that didn't mean to sound as mushy as it did," he shuddered. "Come on, let's get you back to the others before I say something _really_ stupid."

The walk back was…tense, to say the least. Natsu did little to acknowledge that Lucy was even with him, but the blonde was used to this. It wasn't as if he had ever gone out of his way to be kind to her in the few weeks that she's known him. Ever since the day of their confrontation in the lunch line, Lucy had been too embarrassed to strike up a conversation with the mage, not that he was looking to start one anyway.

Lucy sighed into her scarf, her eyes cast down to stare at her boots as they walked.

"Most Balam kids eat at The Melting Pot in the heart of town, so I'm guessing that's where your roommates are waiting for you," he mumbled, just barely loud enough for the girl to pick up on.

"The Melting Pot?"

"It used to be called The Cauldron, but it was renamed when Yaga passed it on down to her sister." He shrugged, "Or so the story goes."

"Yaga?"

"You ask a lot of questions, Princess."

Lucy didn't feel like pushing the boy for any other answers, not wanting to annoy him when he was, oddly enough, doing her a favor. So she stuffed her hands into her pockets and mumbled a quick apology, silently praying that they weren't much farther from The Melting Pot.

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"I'm curious, where did you run into Natsu?" Erza took a sip of her drink as they all four sat around a table, each picking at their food with shopping bags tucked under their chairs.

Natsu had dropped her off at the entrance of the restaurant once they had caught sight of the other girls through the window. Lucy had turned to at least thank him for going through the trouble of helping her find her roommates, but when she'd turned around to do so, he was already gone.

But not without the others noticing him first.

Lucy ducked her head, tapping her fingers against the tabletop as she recounted her afternoon after being separated from Levy.

She noticed them all struggling to not look worried by the fact she'd wandered into the bad side of town alone, and it in turn had Lucy fighting back a grin.

Though they were reluctant to admit it, they cared.

"Well, it's good luck on your part that Natsu happened to be in the same shop. Though, I wonder why he was there to begin with… It's not like he doesn't know his way around down here."

"Maybe Mad Mim has him shopping for her again, ya know, since she's always holed up in that shack of hers." Juvia replied, adjusting the new hat she'd bought.

"Maybe," Levy muttered, sounding distracted. Lucy noticed that the girl seemed bothered by something.

The blonde figured that they were discussing _Madame_ Mim, and the very name itself sent a shiver down her back.

"Why would Natsu be doing any favors for her?" she asked, to which all three girls snapped their heads up at once.

"You don't know?" Erza asked, arching her brow.

"His story isn't a very nice one," Levy said quietly, "and he tells it best. But to sum it up for you, he's her apprentice."

This was news to the blonde, who had thought that Natsu would belong to a villain whose magic was based more on the elements, not shape-shifting. Suddenly his attitude made a little more sense. After all, who wouldn't be bitter after growing up living with someone rumored to hate sunshine for being too wholesome?

As Lucy sat contemplating this new information she'd been told, the topic of conversation switched amongst the other girls as they began to discuss their class schedules and amounts of homework.

Erza raised a hand to flip her hair over her shoulder, and when she did so it raised her shirt sleeve enough to reveal a strange mark that Lucy had meant to ask about on many occasions, but had been too nervous.

"You really haven't noticed yet?" Juvia asked once Lucy spoke up, and the blue-haired girl sounded incredulous as she stood to show her own that marked the top of her thigh.

"The dorms are separated by blocks," Levy explained, not bothering to tease Lucy for once for not knowing something. "The block that we belong to is called Fairy Tail. Which, trust us, the irony is not lost on anyone."

"The marks aren't required," Juvia said, adjusting the material of her skirt so that she could admire her own. "We hex them wherever we want, sort of like a tattoo, though we can remove them at anytime. They're more of a house pride issue than anything."

"Are there specific colors?"

"No, not really. We're told apart by our marks and our signs.

"Signs?"

Levy held up her pointer finger and stuck out her thumb, lifting her hand into the air and turning it so that the back of it faced the blonde.

"Our sign," said the petite girl as many of the restaurant goers lifted their hands in the air at the sight of one of their own doing the same. "Our proud proclamation that Fairy Tail is our block."

Lucy looked around, admiring the sight before every one soon returned to their meals. She thought it must feel like something really special to feel so united with a group of people who you consider family.

She could only dream of something like that.

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